Students with a GPA of 3.5 or higher in Religion may substitute an Honors project for the Senior Seminar. An Honors project involves independent study with a faculty mentor. It will usually extend over two consecutive terms and earn six hours of credit upon its successful completion. The project culminates in the writing of a major research paper (25-30 pages) during the second term and an oral defense of the project with the Department faculty. The Department of Religion was founded in 1965 at the Dayton Campus of Miami and Ohio State Universities under the administration of the Department of Religion at Miami University. As with all other administrative units, it was guaranteed that the department would become independent when the Ohio Legislature established Wright State University. Dr. Nicholas Piediscalzi was invited to become the founding member of the department. He assumed the task of developing an academic program in religion studies, establishing a religion major and initiating an interdisciplinary program in conjunction with other colleges and departments, and assembling a faculty to achieve these goals.